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Elemental Mercury Removal from Flue Gas by Metal/Metal Oxide Decorated Graphene Oxide Composites
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- Author / Creator
- Liu, Yuxi
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The toxic elemental mercury (Hg0) released from coal-fired flue gases is a huge threat to the environment and health of human beings. In this work, silver nanoparticles (NPs), nano ferrite, manganese dioxide, zinc oxide and copper oxide were successfully deposited on graphene oxide (GO) and applied as novel adsorbents for Hg0 removal. GO, magnetic ferrite nanoparticle-GO (MGO), Ag nanoparticle–GO (GO-Ag), MGO-Ag, GO-MnO2, GO-ZnO and GO-CuO were successfully synthesized and characterized. All the composite materials were tested for the mercury breakthrough by using a Cold Vapour Atomic Fluorescence Spectrophotometer at various temperatures. The presence of Ag NPs on GO greatly enhances the Hg0 removal capability of GO-Ag and MGO-Ag as compared to that of pure GO, which is mainly attributed to the amalgamation of Hg0 on Ag NPs. MGO-Ag shows the best Hg0 removal performance and thermal tolerance among all the adsorbents developed, with Hg0 removal efficiency of ~100% from 50 °C to 200 °C and even ~40% at 250 °C. The MGO-Ag composite can be fully regenerated for reuse through a thermal treatment process. The results indicate that MGO-Ag and GO-MnO2 can be effective candidates and have great potential applications in Hg0 removal from practical flue gas.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2014
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.